


the rest we need

by mumblingmaria



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: 3 Times Fic, F/M, naps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 05:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15478203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mumblingmaria/pseuds/mumblingmaria
Summary: Kanan often finds Hera asleep when she's in the middle of working on whatever secret mission she has to plan. Over the years together, it surprise of that wears off and he just enjoys that every now and then she can find the rest she needs.





	the rest we need

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Xenadd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenadd/gifts).



1.

It had been a long day in hyperspace. A long second full day in hyperspace. Day three of the trip in general. Kanan could easily say he had never been a fan of multiple day long journeys. It was hard not to get bored; especially since he was never good at spacing out his chores. Three days in and he had nothing to do anymore. Even playing and beating Chopper at dejarik was boring.

Kanan just wanted to do something. _Anything_.

It didn’t help that Hera had all but banned him from the cockpit. Wherever they were going was a secret; someone who was just crew wasn’t privy to that kind of info. And it seemed that info was going to be filling up the cockpit until this job was done. And she seemed to be sticking to the cockpit which meant he only had Chopper for company. 

Now that he was thinking about it, he wasn’t sure he had seen Hera leave the front of the ship (he knew she must have but he definitely hadn’t seen her). 

He wanted to stay ‘just crew’ and was very comfortable like this but he was starting to think that maybe Hera was trying to annoy him into joining her crazy rebellion. He was starting to get worried that it was going to work. The longer she kept him out of stuff the more annoyed he’d get and the more he wanted to just join in completely to _know_. Damn, she really was just annoying him into giving in. 

“That’s it for me, Chop,” Kanan said after letting out a long sigh. He stretched his arms over his head as the droid across from him beeped his complaints. “Chopper, come on, we’ve had five rounds of this. You have to be as bored as I am.”

“Whomp whomp waaaah.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll get me next time. But next time isn’t now. I’m going to check in with Hera, then call it a night.” Kanan inched his way out from the booth and headed for the exit. With a smirk, he looked over his shoulder. “Maybe you can study my moves. It’ll be the only way you beat me at dejarik.”

“WAAAAAAH.”

Kanan chuckled as he left the common room, Chopper furiously waving his hands in the arm behind him. 

The walk to the cockpit was short though as he got closer he slowed his steps. He was just going to pop in to tell Hera he was heading to his cabin for the night cycle. He was bored of waiting and at the point wanted to just wake up to the news they were finally out of hyperspace. But what if she was annoyed at him for coming into her space, even just to say he was going to be even more out of the way?

His worries didn’t stop him. He’d be in and be out before she could be annoyed. Maybe he’d close his eyes just in case there was some oh so secretive transmissions coming through. He chuckled again as he opened the cockpit’s door. 

“Hey, Hera? I’m turning in,” he said, leaning into the room. She was sitting in her seat, arms draped across the armrests. Her head was tilted slightly to the left, her lekku falling behind the chair’s back. She didn’t move at all at his words. So, he tried again. “I’m heading to my cabin.”

Still nothing. 

Kanan frowned and stepped into the cockpit completely. The hatchway closed up behind him as he walked over to her. “Hera?” he asked, placing a hand of the back of her chair. Peering over to look at her face, he almost laughed. She was out, asleep. She couldn’t have been asleep that long, she never slept sitting up right for more than a handful of minutes. He was a little surprised he even caught her like this. 

He moved his hand from the chair to her shoulder, giving a quick squeeze before gently shaking her. She startled, jerking awake, before blinking up at him. 

“You fell asleep,” Kanan said, taking his hand off her. He never touched her longer than she’d allow. 

“Apparently. Thanks for waking me,” she muttered. She rubbed her eyes and then looked up at him. “Why are you in here? Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, I was just going to…” Kanan paused. He looked her over and saw how tired she actually was. Her eyes weren’t quite focused on him, blinking too much. There was a puffiness to them. Why had he waken her? She needed sleep. “Why don’t you go to your cabin? I’ll keep watch for a couple hours.”

“Kanan…”

“Hera,” he replied, raising a brow at her. “Come on, just go get some sleep. If any secret transmissions come I promise to get you and not answer them.”

She looked like she was about to argue but only rubbed her eyes again. He knew he had already won this, especially since it was clear she was too tired to even argue. “You promise you’ll wake me?”

“Yes, Captain. Now, come on.” He wrapped a hand around her arm and gently pulled up. She let him, rising to her feet. He stepped out of the way so she could head to the hatchway. 

“I’ll be back in two hours, okay?”

“Get some rest,” he answered, shooing her away with his hand. She smiled before turning to leave.

Kanan settled himself into the pilot’s seat, trying to get comfortable without adjusting the chair at all.

2.

“You really haven’t seen her around?” Kanan asked. He was leaning on the railing of the cargo hold catwalk, staring down at Sabine. She was spray painting the side of a recently stolen speeder bike. Kanan couldn’t see the design from where he was standing but the yellow cloud of paint told him it was going to be loud, whatever it all. Only Sabine would paint something that bright but still manage to pull off a stealth mission.

“Not since we all ate dinner,” she answered. She looked up at him and offered an apologetic smile. “Maybe she’s gone to bed?”

Kanan smirked and Sabine shrugged. They both knew Hera wasn’t in bed.

“Try the galley?”

“Sure.” 

He climbed out of the hold and up to the cockpit. Chopper was plugged into the ship, working on some task Hera had left him before apparently disappearing. Walking through the corridor, Kanan could hear the sound of a holovid from Zeb’s cabin. 

The common room was empty, though there were a couple dishes left on the small table. With a sigh Kanan collected the dishes. Eventually Sabine would remember that used dishes needed to make their way back to the galley. 

It was easy going on the ship. When they had first found Sabine, he had been worried about how she would adjust to living with three adult strangers. But the girl fit in, even if it had taken time for her to allow herself to settle. Hera had been right (she always was), Sabine was a good fit for them. 

In the galley, Kanan saw that Sabine had also been right. At least, her second guess was. There was Hera, sitting at the table. Well, the girl’s first guess was also sort of right. Not in her cabin but Hera was definitely asleep. There was a datapad on the table in front of her and a cup of caf. Kanan wouldn’t be surprised to discover the cup being mostly full. 

Setting the dishes on the counter, Kanan walked over to the bench Hera was on. Her head was leaning against the wall. Kanan knelt on the seat and leaned over, kissing her cheek. His hand rested on her leg as she began to stir.

“Kanan?” she whispered, lifting her head up. 

“Tired?” he asked in response. 

Hera smiled up at him. He eased his lips over hers before moving out from the bench. She wistfully looked at her datapad before scooting out from the table. She stood up and stretched. 

“I should probably head to my cabin.” Her words were taken over by a yawn and then followed by her rolling her eyes (mid yawn) as Kanan laughed. “I’ll have you know that I wasn’t asleep very long before you showed up.”

“Mhmmm,” he hummed. He gestured to the door. Hera shoved him in his chest, lightly, and led the way out. 

They walked side by side the short distance to her cabin. Zeb was still watching whatever holovid had captured his attention and it sounded like Sabine had made her way to her cabin. It was time for everyone to head to sleep; it was a rare moment on the ship when they could do just that. 

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Kanan said when they stood between their cabins. He leaned down to brush his lips against her cheek. “Get some sleep.”

Hera nodded but reached out and pulled him back to her after he took only one step. “I will,” she replied, a smile spreading across her face. She hit the controls for the door to her room and took a few steps back into it, tugging him along with her. 

Kanan grinned and followed her willingly.

3.

The _Ghost_ sounded as alive as it always did. Walking back onto the ship, he was greeted by Sabine and Chopper. What they were doing in the cargo hold was a mystery to him but he was sure it was allowed. The cockpit was empty but Ezra was in the corridor outside. After a second, not longer, of tension and worry fluttering off him, he asked how his meditation went (Ezra still wasn’t joining him all the time, there was still a lot of ground the two of them needed to cover). Zeb stepped out into the hall as they spoke, grumbling about them being far too loud when _some people were trying to sleep._

Kanan laughed, patted Ezra’s shoulder as his student started to argue that it wasn’t even late Zeb was just lazy, and continued down the corridor. It wasn’t that late, but going to sleep now had it’s appeal. Whether tonight would be a night he could shut everything off and rest was still to be discovered.

His plan was to just grab some water, maybe a plate of whatever might be left from their dinner, and head to his own cabin. Tomorrow was going to be filled with mission briefings and whatever training with Ezra he could squeeze in, so he just wanted to follow Zeb’s lead and call it a night.

Stepping into the common room, though, Kanan immediately forgot the reason he came this way. A new reason appeared. 

“Hera,” Kanan said, a smile spreading across his face. He shouldn’t have been surprised to find her here, she hadn’t been in the cockpit (though now that did often mean she wasn’t on the ship at all, off in some meeting with Commander Sato). But he was surprised, and it was a pleasant one.

There was no response from her, however. Kanan walked over to the table she was sitting at and listened. Soon, he sighed. A smile tugged at his lips. She was asleep. Most likely bent over countless datapads. She had been working through the past two nights, only grabbing an hour or two of sleep when she couldn’t hold it off any longer. Apparently her body decided enough was enough. Her body and him were always trying to argue this case. Maybe one day she’d listen to them. 

She was sitting on one of the stools which made what he wanted to do a lot easier, no awkward climbing to get to her in the booth. Squatting down, Kanan moved one arm under her legs with his other one on her back and he lifted her up into his arms. She stirred but didn’t wake. If he was lucky, he’d be able to get her into her bunk without waking her. Waking her meant she’d argue about being carried and argue about not working. 

He wasn’t lucky (when was he ever, if he was being honest). In his attempt to climb up to her bunk, Hera woke up. 

“I can get up there on my own,” she murmured, sleep heavy on her voice. 

“Yeah, but you know I can do this,” he said, smiling down at her. She sighed when he did so. Oh, he was wearing his mask still. She wasn’t a fan of seeing him wearing it on the _Ghost_ when they were alone. 

“As funny as it has been watching you struggle in the past, just let me do it,” Hera said. She rested a hand across his cheek, her gloved thumb brushing over his beard. He smiled again and set her down, his hands lingering on her waist to make sure she was steady. 

Once she was, he pulled his hands back and said, “Get some sleep, Hera. Some actual sleep.” It was supposed to be teasing, but his concern seeped into the words uninvited. 

“You could stay.” Her voice was barely a whisper. It hung in the air nonetheless, heavy. Malachor had been so many months ago, and even before than they had been at a distance from each other. He could stay, and he wanted to stay. He wanted to spend the night with their limbs tangled up together. 

But…

“Some other time,” he said. He took his mask off and leaned down. He felt her breath quicken as his lips brushed against her forehead. “Not tonight.”

“Okay,” Hera answered. She brushed a hand across his face again, once he pulled away, before her fingers settled on his chin. “Okay.”

“Do get some sleep though, Hera,” Kanan said, grinning down at her. “It’s getting a little old find you passed out in random parts of the ship. I think at this point I’ve found you asleep in every corner.”

“Oh, because you don’t have bad habits.” She laughed with her accusation, pushing him towards the exit.

Maybe another time he’d spend the night but he was still adjusting to what his life was now. 

He walked across to his cabin, the water and food he wanted still forgotten.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write some fluff for Kanan and Hera because I didn't really have anything planned. And I was talking about naps with my lovely friend Xena (again) and decided I was just going to write another fic about one of these two sleeping (again). And then I decided I'd just gift it to Xena, cause.


End file.
